Sun, 06 Aug 2017, 14:40 PM Top Fuel Round 1 Eliminations

By Rick Green

KENT, Wash. - Results of round 1 eliminations in Top Fuel at the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, 30th annual NHRA Northwest Nationals:

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    5 Shawn Langdon                        7211 Mike Salinas                 
E1                   0.057  3.821 271.35     ****WINNER****  0.028  3.821 282.19
 Qualified:             #8  3.797 322.81                        #9  3.826 319.29

Weather conditions: air temperature 78 degrees, relative humidity 57 percent, barometer 29.61 inches, adjusted altitude 2,324 feet, track temperature 98 degrees.

Langdon is 1 - 0 against Salinas in prior events.

Salinas with the starting line advantage and they run identical E.T.s and Salinas gets the hole shot win. Mike Salinas' MOV: 0.0297 seconds (approximately 12 feet). Salinas with his quickest pass of the weekend for the win.

Langdon dropped a cylinder right in the lights to end his day.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
 5050 Scott Palmer                           25 Clay Millican                
E1                   0.080  3.845 323.12     ****WINNER****  0.090  3.765 322.11
 Qualified:            #13  3.864 320.28                        #4  3.766 318.39

Millican is 2 - 0 against Palmer in prior events.

Palmer with a slight starting line advantage, but Millican has the lead by the time they go by the Christmas tree and then runs his quickest pass of the weekend for the win.

Palmer with his quickest pass of the weekend in the losing effort.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    6 Brittany Force                        497 Troy Buff                    
E1   ****WINNER****  0.091  3.724 328.14                     0.104  3.841 317.79
 Qualified:             #5  3.780 324.05                       #12  3.862 309.98

Brittany Force clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship during qualifying. Brittany Force set top speed at Sonoma and that is the fifth time this year she has done that. Coming into 2016 she had only set top speed five times in her career.

This is Troy Buff's 93rd start in Top Fuel.

Force is 2 - 1 against Buff in prior events.

Force with the starting line advantage and launched hard and kept it hooked up to make the quickest pass of the event for the win. Brittany Force's incremental times: 60ft-0.824 sec., 330ft-2.109, 660ft-2.989/287.47 mph. force will have lane choice over Millican in the next round.

Buff with his quickest pass of the weekend in the losing effort.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    2 Doug Kalitta                          121 Terry Haddock                
E1   ****WINNER****  0.063  3.768 329.75                           No Time      
 Qualified:             #2  3.744 326.48                       #15  3.999 283.67

Doug Kalitta clinched a spot in the Countdown to the Championship during qualifying. Kalitta is 3 - 0 against Haddock in prior events.

Haddock was shut off the burnout.

Kalitta was straight down the groove on the singe for the win. He runs top speed of the event for the win. Doug Kalitta's incremental times: 60ft-0.843 sec., 330ft-2.146, 660ft-3.033/287.17 mph.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    1 Antron Brown                          640 Ron Smith                    
E1   ****WINNER****  0.074  3.745 326.63                     0.116  4.632 192.19
 Qualified:             #1  3.735 329.10                       #16  5.502 140.65

Antron Brown is the defending event champion. Antron's runner-up finish in Sonoma was the 118th final round of his career (including 4-wide events) and that is the 11th most in NHRA history among all drivers.

Ron Smith's first race in Top Fuel was at the Fallnationals in Seattle in 1980. He has now participated in 36 races in his career and 29 of them have been at this track.

In 29 years at this event the #16 qualifier in Top Fuel in 2 - 27 in round one.

This is the first time Brown and Smith have faced each other in eliminations.

Brown with the starting line advantage and never trailed for the win. He will have lane choice over Salinas in the next round.

Smith started mixing up cylinders around 330 feet and then clicked it off.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
  777 Leah Pritchett                        614 Shawn Reed                   
E1   ****WINNER****  0.084  3.729 314.46                     0.080  3.964 313.22
 Qualified:             #3  3.755 325.30                       #14  3.925 314.97

Pritchett is 3 - 0 against Reed in prior events.

Reed with a few ticks on the tree, but Pritchett has the lead by the time they go by the Christmas tree and was on a great pass until right in the lights when it started to use up the engine. She still runs the second quickest pass of the event for the win. Leah Pritchett's incremental times: 60ft-0.827 sec., 330ft-2.100, 660ft-2.978/288.33 mph.

Reed with a good pass in the losing effort.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    8 Tony Schumacher                       301 Troy Coughlin Jr.            
E1   ****WINNER****  0.059  3.741 328.94                     0.113  4.615 169.83
 Qualified:             #6  3.783 324.12                       #11  3.854 320.43

Tony Schumacher has won this race four times and that's the most for any active Top Fuel driver. His last win came in 2008. He also has three runner-up finishes at this event. He starts the day with 798 round wins. Troy Coughlin is the 97th driver that Tony has faced in his Top Fuel career.

Schumacher is out of the gate first and never trailed for the win as Coughlin Jr. was up in smoke at the 330-foot mark and pedaled it, but couldn't get it to hook up before he clicked it off. Schumacher runs his quickest pass of the weekend in the win, but will give up lane choice to Pritchett in the next round.

 Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT-----ET---Speed-----Car#-Driver(Opp'nt)-RT----ET---Speed
    3 Steve Torrence                         21 Terry McMillen               
E1                   0.065  3.764 327.51     ****WINNER****  0.086  3.725 321.58
 Qualified:             #7  3.791 324.75                       #10  3.835 313.37

Steve Torrence won here in 2012. Steve's win in Sonoma was the 14th of his career and that ties him for 17th among all Top Fuel drivers. Steve was runner-up at this race last year.

Torrence is 10 - 6 against McMillen in prior events.

Torrence with the starting line advantage, but McMillen has the lead by 330 feet and never trails from there on for the win. McMillen runs the second quickest pass of the event for the win and he will have lane choice over Kalitta in the next round. Terry McMillen's incremental times: 60ft-0.838 sec., 330ft-2.120, 660ft-2.987/290.63 mph. Terry McMillen's MOV: 0.0185 seconds (approximately 9 feet).

Torrence runs his quickest pass of the weekend in the losing effort.

Timing data courtesy of CompuLink



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